A former NHS health worker has been awarded a compensation payout for work-related psychological stress.

The retired health worker, who had a mainly office-based role, is due to receive £370,550, whilst receiving a further £24,000 every year for the rest of his life.

The Birmingham City Hospital had previously been refusing to pay compensation to the man, who retired in 1996 due to stress. However, they have now been ordered to make the payment by the Department of Health. Health Secretary Andy Burnham is believed to intervene if the payment is not made within two weeks.

Spokeswoman for the hospital Jessamy Kinghorn said that they were “reluctantly” paying the incapacity compensation despite confusion over which organisation was actually responsible after the original hospital trust dissolved in 2002.

The solicitor firm representing the case said; “Working in the public sector does seem to be stressful and two-thirds of the stress at work cases I get are from jobs in the council or NHS.”

Three ex-members of the British Army involved in a RAF Helicopter crash have made compensation claims to the Ministry of Defence.

The soldiers are looking to claim £300,000 each after the accident, which also killed three of their colleagues and injured nine others.

Christopher Hamilton, John Falconer and Dahrll Duncan, all from Scotland have been unable to continue their services in the army on medical grounds. The trio are seeking compensation for “injury, loss and damage”

A MOD spokesperson said: “When compensation claims are submitted, they are considered on the basis on whether or not the Ministry of Defence has a legal liability to pay compensation. Where there is a legal liability to pay compensation, we do so.”

An inquest into the crash is due to start in October.

Uninsured drivers are a massive problem in the UK. Recent statistics have shown that 1.7 million motorists drove in 2008 without car insurance. These people are endangering people’s lives and property on a regular basis, with no adequate cover if things do go wrong.

As the recession tightens many people’s pockets, it seems the dangers of people driving without insurance are ever more real, as drivers try to save a few pounds every month on something they believe they will probably not need.

Of course, younger drivers are the worst offenders. Currently there are 600,000 21 to 29-year olds driving without insurance, representing 34 percent of all uninsured drivers. Although this group often suffer with the highest premiums, especially the male half of the population, driving without insurance is an illegal offence, punishable by an on the spot £200 fine and 6 penalty points.

Motorists are being warned to make sure they are appropriately covered, by at least third party insurance, or run the risk of having their car seized by the police. Using automatic number plate recognition technology, the police can spot a driver without insurance if they drive past them on the road. Last year this led to 185,000 cars being seized, with 240,000 people being prosecuted.

The Motor Insurance Bureau (MIB) is starting a campaign to stop insured drivers using the roads not to let their cover lapse of face the consequences. The government organisation currently helps those who have been in an accident with an uninsured motorist, and funds this by taking approximately £30 from all insured drivers’ premiums. To many this wouldn’t seem fair, that £30 out of their insurance is going to pay for people who think they are above the law, or who just can’t be bothered to get their insurance.

Thankfully however, for those unlucky enough to be involved in a road traffic accident with an uninsured motorist, the Motor Insurance Bureau is a lifeline that may have believed they did not have.

If you’ve been injured on involved in an accident with an uninsured driver, PIC Claim can help you make your claim to the Motor Insurance Bureau. Call us on 08000 93 33 93 for free, confidential advice on your claim.

A Welsh NHS medical trust has had medical negligence compensation claims totalling over £1.9 made against them over the past year.

The numbers were a huge rise on the previous year, which were just over £1.1 in comparison.

The South Wales Hywel Dda NHS Trust has paid out medical negligence compensation to 32 victims of poor or unsatisfactory treatment in the last 12 months, with one operation in particular costing £367,500.

The figures come soon after Welsh Health Minister Edwina Hart has declared that she wants all personal injury compensation company adverts to be removed from NHS hospitals and surgeries. This in itself has caused controversy, with the Claims Standard Council saying that the decision could cost the taxpayer £1million in broken contracts with personal injury firms.

The Hywel Dda Trust has admitted that medical negligence claims made towards them include “failures to diagnose, delays in diagnosis, intra-operative problems and unexpected deaths.”

If you’ve suffered medical negligence at hospital or elsewhere, PIC Claim can help you claim for compensation. Call 08000 93 33 93 for more details.

Government ministers are hoping that radical new proposals will increase the safety for vulnerable cyclists on the road.

The plans say that in any collision between a car and cyclist on the road would, officially in terms of personal injury compensation claim, be the fault of the car driver, even if they had not directly caused the accident.

The government suggest that the latest ideas are the only way forward in reducing the volume of traffic on our roads. Currently only 1-2% of journeys are made by bike.

Statistics show that cyclists are the most vulnerable of all road users, with 115 deaths recorded in the last year alone. It is also believed that between 60% and 90% of cyclist casualties are not even reported, especially if it is a bike-only accident.

Further plans include introducing more 20mph speed limits in residential areas – considered the most dangerous circumstances for cyclists, whilst 18 towns across the country are going through a cycle route development programme.

Cyclists will welcome the proposals, which give them extra protection if they are injured in a road traffic accident and wish to make a cycle accident claim for compensation.

The plans included in the government’s National Cycling Plan and Active Transport Strategy are due to be published soon.

Statistics show that accidents involving fork-lift trucks are more likely this month than at any other time of the year.

Fork lift truck accidents (FLT’s) contribute to a large proportion of incidents in a warehouse environment throughout the year, with the figures rising to their highest during the month of September.

Solicitors have blamed the rise on people returning from their holidays and lacking the same concentration levels as they do through the rest of the year.

400 workers annually are seriously injured in accidents involving fork lift trucks, with around 10 fatalities. However, stats demonstrate that the monthly injuries figure for FTA’s has doubled in the month of September year after year.

Warehouse staff are advised to be extra vigilant and remember their health and safety regulations over the course of this month.

Thousands of miners in the north-east of England are due pay-outs after being wrongly charged legal-expenses.

Approximately 150,000 miners are owed a total of £100 million after being charged for making compensation claims for work-related illnesses.

The lawyers took money off the miners whilst fully knowing the government were to subsidise the claims. Many have since been struck off.

Labour MP for Bassetlaw John Mann has called on colleague and business secretary Peter Mandleson to ensure that the miners get their money back in full.

Claims were made up to ten years ago, when the government agreed that miners suffering with vibration white finger (VWF) and emphysema should receive payouts for their injuries and illnesses.

Thousands of miners had been working in unsafe conditions, and were often using faulty, inadequate equipment for a number of years.

It is now clear that almost 90% of those affected have still not come forward to claim back their entitled money.

Mr Mann declared that the lives of the miners would be made much easier if they were to come forward, and would boost the economies of former mining areas.

A woman from Birmingham has received a compensation payout after a three-year battle with the city’s SnowDome leisure facility.

Single mother of four, Sally Morris was awarded an undisclosed amount after she was badly injured at the popular Tamworth tourist attraction. She suffered injuries to her spine and kidneys when another visitor’s toboggan ploughed into the back of her at full speed.

Mrs Morris was on a day out with her six-year old daughter when she was hurt. After taking a turn on the toboggan run, she ended up stuck in a crammed queue of people trying to leave the area.

Despite the clear dangers, staff continued to allow visitors down the slopes as normal, leaving her exposed to the full force of an oncoming toboggan.

Mrs Morris, decided to issue a claim for compensation in July 2006 using a personal injury solicitor. At first the SnowDome refused to accept responsibility, declaring that their staff were highly trained and carried out detailed risk assessments.

After a three year battle, court proceedings were issued to the visitor attraction. Soon after, the SnowDome agreed to award her an out of court settlement.

Mrs Morris, who also lost her husband through illness during this period, hopes that her act of perseverance will inspire others to see through their claims for their entitled compensation.

A 38-year old man has died following an accident at work.

Police were called to Fairey Engineering shortly before 12.30pm, after a man became trapped while trying to repair machinery at the plant, located on Crossley Road, Heaton Chapel, Stockport on Saturday.

Rescue workers made every attempt to free the man, but he was pronounced dead at the scene after suffering severe head injuries.

The Health and Safety Executive has been informed and a joint investigation has been launched to establish the circumstances surrounding his death.

There are not believed to be any suspicious circumstances.

The family of a great grandmother beaten close to death in a horrific assault by a drug addict have spoken of their shock at the attacker’s early release from prison.
Emma Bastow, 89, prided herself on her independence until she was beaten senseless with a heavy poker in her own home by Joanne Lloyd.
Mrs Bastow’s daughter Pauline Massey told the YEP of her disgust at being told this week that Lloyd has been freed, six years into a 10-year sentence.

Security has now been stepped up at the West Yorkshire nursing home where Mrs Bastow has been cared for since the attack.

Mrs Massey said: “I can’t believe anyone would consider letting her free again for what she did.

“As far as I am concerned she is a monster.

“She has never once said sorry. I have already told the nursing home.
“I would hate for anyone to have to go through what my mum and family have gone through because of her.”

The widow was living alone in Sheldrake Avenue, Castleford, when Lloyd, then 23, broke into her home in 2002.

Mrs Bastow’s cries were heard by neighbours who found her stumbling, bloodstained and confused, outside her home wearing just her nightdress following the robbery.

Lloyd – described as “truly callous and wicked” by a judge – was sentenced to 10 years behind bars.

An accomplice had forced a window to allow her to get inside where she stole cash, spirits, clothing and chocolates.

Following the attack Mrs Bastow has not been able to cope by herself and has had to move into the nursing home in South Elmsall.

Mrs Massey said the incident had also taken its toll on her own health and she had moved away from the area.

The Probation Service have told her that Lloyd has been freed on licence with conditions not to enter the South Elmsall or Castleford areas.

She added: “She is free after just six years but our lives have been ruined forever.

“Mum used to be so independent but deteriorated immediately after the attack.

“She would always say ‘don’t let her come back and get me will you?’”
“But now when I go to see her she doesn’t know who I am or even recognise her grandchildren any more.”

Following the attack Mrs Massey wrote to then Prime Minister Tony Blair and the Home Office about the attack calling for greater justice for crime victims and their families.

In 2004 the YEP reported how, despite her ordeal, Mrs Bastow was offered just £1,800 from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority to compensate her for the nightmare she had endured.